


Welcome to SHIELD

by redlipstickblackdress



Series: S.H.I.E.L.D. Adventures [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Incredible Hulk - All Media Types
Genre: Espionage, F/M, Hate Sex, Implied Sexual Content, Non-Graphic Violence, Organized Crime, Romance, Science Experiments, Strippers & Strip Clubs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-18
Updated: 2013-08-18
Packaged: 2017-12-23 22:38:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 29
Words: 14,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/931892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redlipstickblackdress/pseuds/redlipstickblackdress
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bruce Banner meets the one woman who seems to be able to calm down The Hulk, but Nick Fury wants to run experiments with her to make sure the result is consistent.  Meanwhile, a new SHIELD agent pairs up with Phil Coulson to catch a crime syndicate that wants to release The Hulk as a terrorism plot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Welcome to SHIELD

Gwen Morehouse looked at herself in the mirror and adjusted the skirt of her crisp suit, smoothing her reddish-brown hair that was tied up in a bun. It was her first day on a new job, but she wasn’t worried about it. She had worked in espionage for five years and although she was young, she was good. So good, in fact, that Nick Fury had wasted no time in hiring her to work for the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, or SHIELD. The leader of the intelligence agency had offered her great pay and benefits, and she didn’t even think twice before taking the job.

After boarding a small aircraft that could only hold a one or two passengers, she was flown over the water. It wasn’t an incredibly long flight before they were landing on a large landing pad in the middle of the water. She got off the craft and looked around. A moment later, a man with dark hair and aqua blue eyes approached her wearing a nice suit. 

“Agent Morehouse?” he confirmed.

“Yes.”

“I’m Agent Phil Coulson, I’ve been sent to welcome you. It’s an honor to finally meet you after reading your file.” They shook hands. 

At that moment, the landing pad started rising out of the water and Gwen realized that they were on the roof of a huge flying vessel. SHIELD headquarters continued to rise higher until it had completely emerged out of the water, the exterior of it turning virtually invisible to camouflage the organization.

“Perhaps we should go inside,” Coulson said, leading her in the right direction. When they were inside the massive flying building, she was lead through a door to find a well-furnished but un-decorated office. “This will be your office,” he told her before speaking into an earpiece. “Send in Barton.” 

A few minutes later, a man with brown hair and incredible arms entered, wearing a zippered vest with the SHIELD logo on the chest. 

“Agent Gwen Morehouse…Agent Clint Barton,” Coulson introduced. “Agent Barton will show you around.” 

“Oh, come on, I have to show around the new girl?” Clint complained.

“Be nice. She’s a valuable asset to this organization,” Coulson said professionally before leaving the two alone together.

“Thank you for showing me around. It won’t take me long to remember where everything is,” Gwen said, hoping to appease this man’s obvious frustration at having to give her a tour. 

“Come on,” he responded grumpily.

“Hello, it’s nice to meet you too,” Gwen muttered sarcastically, just loudly enough for Clint to catch it and give her a cranky look, although he didn’t reply.

Gwen followed him out of her office, taking note of where it was so that she could get back to it without asking this grouch for help. He walked briskly around the huge building, saying nothing more to her than the names of the rooms they passed or entered. Gwen tried to remember them all as best she could, but it was a lot to take in. 

The tour ended with a massive room with a wall of windows. All around the room were a bunch of SHIELD employees in jumpsuits were looking at computer screens, presumably to make sure everything was running smoothly. On a raised area in the center stood Nick Fury wearing his eye patch and long black coat. Fury approached the new agent and her tour guide. 

“Welcome, Agent Morehouse,” he said in his deep voice. “Agent Barton, we seem to have a situation. We’re sending in Stark, I need you to back him up.”

“What kind of situation?” Clint asked, suddenly interested.

“Banner’s gone haywire.” 

Clint nodded, clearly knowing what this meant, although Gwen had no idea what Fury was talking about. She just stood there, assuming she’d be told when she needs to do something. 

Clint disappeared, leaving her alone with the SHIELD director. This would definitely prove to be an interesting career move.


	2. A Fight With a Car

Clint stood in a street in the city to see the big green monster angrily stomping around. The red and gold metal suit of Tony Stark was flying around trying to appease the creature and minimize the damage. Clint helped rush a family to safety before approaching Iron Man. 

“How’s it going, Legolas?” Stark greeted.

“What caused The Hulk to emerge?” Clint asked. 

“Bruce got into an argument with a car. The car won.” 

“He got hit by a car?” 

“Yeah, it was just a little stressful.” 

Clint ran off to help some more screaming citizens and evacuate everyone from the area. He thought he had gotten everyone away from the brunt of the destruction, so he re-directed his attention to The Hulk to try to calm him down or at least contain him a bit. The Hulk slapped Iron Man away with a large growl, and Stark went flying into some parked cars and skidded across the street, sparks flying from the friction of metal on pavement. Suddenly, the huge beast turned to see a person Clint had missed – a rather small young woman in a vintage dress. 

“Ma’am, run! Get yourself to safety!” Clint shouted at her, but it was too late, The Hulk had seen her. Iron Man was trying to get his suit to start back up, and Clint didn’t know what to do, he couldn’t get to the girl in time to get her out of there. She was backed against the brick wall of a building as The Hulk stomped toward her, growling. He loomed over her, roaring angrily, lifted a huge green fist. Clint watched, his bow and arrow poised at The Hulk, ready to shoot if he needed to. 

The woman looked at The Hulk, her head slightly tilted. The Hulk looked into her eyes. There was fear in them, but that wasn’t the only thing – there was pity and sympathy. She figured he must be suffering. She looked back at him, and he lowered his fist. Then, the big green monster began to transform, to shrink, to become human. A minute later, a man with curly black hair and brown eyes collapsed naked and unconscious in front of her. Clint ran over to her. 

“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

“No, I’m fine.” 

“What’s your name?”

“Lacey. Lacey McMannis.” 

“Get out of here,” Clint told her. There was a lot of cleaning up to do, and it would be better for her if she wasn’t around. She gave the unconscious Bruce one last concerned look before walking away. 

By this time, Stark had gotten his suit to function properly again and flow over, lowering his feet to the ground next to Clint.

“Who was that?” Stark asked.

“Lacey McMannis, apparently.”

“How’d she get him to chill out? Sing him a lullaby? Offer him a joint?”

“No, she just looked at him. She just stared until he turned back into Banner.” 

“Huh. Usually I’m the only one who can stare at people until they do what I want,” Tony said before he gathered up Bruce to fly him back to SHIELD. When they got back, they got Bruce into a bed and went to report to Fury.

“How’d you get him under control?” Fury asked. 

“We didn’t. Someone else did,” Clint informed him.

“I didn’t send any other agents.”

“She wasn’t an agent.”


	3. The New Girl

Barton was re-loading his quiver with arrows, putting his bow in his locker, and cleaning himself up when he was summoned by Coulson again. He went to Coulson’s office to find Agent Morehouse standing inside of it.

“Agent Barton, I need you to get Agent Morehouse set up with her security clearance.”

“You people do know I was trained to do more than this, right?” he grumbled. He was tired of babysitting the new girl on her first day.

“I’m sorry to inconvenience you so much, Agent Barton,” Gwen said tartly, “but it won’t take long, and then you can go back to polishing your arrow.” At this, Agent Coulson pressed his lips together to suppress a laugh at the suggestive insult. Gwen and Coulson exchanged an almost flirtatious look that Clint found obnoxious. Clint glared at Gwen. 

“Let’s just get this over with,” he snapped. She followed him out of Coulson’s office and had to admit that his ass looked pretty nice in his tight pants, but that thought quickly passed when she remembered what a jerk he was being. He took her around to fill out the necessary paperwork to get her security clearance and got her a badge, a gun, and everything else she would need to do her job.

“Thanks for the help,” Gwen said, although a bit sarcastically, since he seemed to have a serious attitude problem.

“I have stuff to do,” was all he said before stalking away.


	4. A Visit From a Billionaire

Lacey was sitting on the couch in her pajamas eating popcorn watching a science fiction movie on TV when there was a knock on her door. Not knowing who could possibly be coming to see her at 8:00 at night, she threw open the door to find a handsome man with dark brown hair, brown eyes, a trimmed beard, and the unusual part, a circle of light on his chest that glowed through his long sleeve t-shirt. 

“Um…can I help you?” Lacey asked, having no idea who he was.

“Lacey McMannis, right?” She nodded. “You saw me earlier today, but I was wearing a big shiny metal suit and being awesome.”

“Uh…oh, that was you?” she asked, letting him in and closing the door.

“Tony Stark. Yes, the billionaire.” She looked at him blankly. “Stark Tower, huge building in the city with my name on it…” he prompted. This clearly didn’t ring any bells. “You must not read the papers.” 

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Stark. But I don’t really understand…what are you doing here?” 

“Oh, right. You know that giant green rage monster that almost pummeled you earlier today?”

“Yeah.”

“We need to know what you did to turn him back into mild-mannered scientist Bruce Banner.”

“That was Bruce Banner? I read about his work in my college physics class several years ago, he’s a genius.” 

“You’ve heard of him? But you haven’t heard of me…did I say my name is Tony Stark?” He enunciated his name, as if she would recall hearing about him if he said it again. She just shook her head. 

“Nope, sorry.” 

“I’m sure it’ll come to you. Anyway, how did you do it?”

“I didn’t do anything, he saw me, he was about to hit me, and then he just stopped and…well, transformed. I have no idea what I did that made him stop.”

“Well, we’re hoping to find out. I’ve been told to bring you back with me.”

“Back where?”

“You’re going to want to change,” was all he said. 

“Now?”

“Yeah, I don’t really like waiting.” 

“Well, how do I know you’re who you say you are? What if you’re a weirdo trying to kidnap me?” 

“Yeah, I decided to use the old pretend-to-be-a-billionaire trick,” he said sarcastically. Tony lifted an untouched newspaper off her coffee table and held up the front page, on which there was a massive picture of him with a headline that read, “BILLIONAIRE PHILANTHROPIST TONY STARK DONATES $50,000 TO CHARITY.” 

“Oh, I guess you were telling the truth. Okay, give me a minute to change.” She disappeared and put on the light blue vintage dress she had been wearing earlier that day before following Stark out and locking her apartment.


	5. Meet Lacey McMannis

Bruce Banner woke up to find that he was in a bed, still naked. Damn. The Other Guy had come out to play. He turned his head to find Natasha Romanoff, a SHIELD agent and trained assassin, sitting in the room with him.

“Did I hurt anyone?” he asked.

“No. You made a friend, actually, from what I hear.”

“A friend?” 

“That’s what they tell me. Stark brought her here, they told me to send you to the lab when you woke up.”

“Can I put on some clothes first?” 

“Of course.” With that, she left him to get dressed. He put on brown pants and a blue button-up shirt and donned his glasses before reporting to the lab. There he found Stark, Fury, and a short brown-haired woman in a light blue vintage dress. As soon as he saw her, for some reason, he felt incredibly relaxed. He couldn’t explain it, she just had a calming effect. 

“Doctor Banner,” Fury said. “I’d like you to meet Lacey McMannis.” 

“Hello,” he greeted her, looking back and forth between her and Fury, wondering who she was and what this was all about.

“Hi,” she said back, a bit shyly. 

“Miss McMannis, I suppose I should tell you why you were brought here,” Fury said. “It has come to my attention that today, your presence contained The Hulk.” Bruce flushed slightly at this, clearly embarrassed that he had lost control. “When a civilian stops a city-wide threat, I like to know how.” 

“I…I don’t know…” she told him. “I was just standing there, and then all of a sudden he turned into…well…” she turned to look at Bruce, “you.” Her voice was soft and soothing. 

“Well, something about you made him stop today, and with your permission, we’d like to find out what that is.” 

“How?” she asked. 

“Through a series of controlled experiments. We’d take every precaution to ensure your safety.” 

“What kind of experiments are we talking about?” Bruce asked. A look flashed across Fury’s face before he spoke.

“I’d like to expose her to The Hulk and track the effect.”

“With all due respect, sir, I don’t feel comfortable with that,” Bruce informed him.

“Every measure will be taken to make sure she is not harmed,” Fury said. “If she has the secret to saving the city lives and damage, I need to know about it.” 

“I really don’t think this is a good idea,” Bruce said. 

“Excuse me,” Lacey interrupted softly, “but you did say that you needed my permission,” she pointed out to Fury. Bruce nodded in agreement, relieved that she was going to say no. However, she did the opposite. “I’d like to help.” Fury nodded gratefully. 

“Miss McMannis, you’re very helpful, but you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into,” Bruce protested. 

“Doctor Banner, it’s nice that you’re concerned about me, but this is my decision,” she told him in a warm, reassuring voice. Bruce was out-voted. 

“We’ll start tomorrow,” Fury said before leaving the room. Tony Stark followed him out, leaving Bruce and Lacey alone. 

“I know we met earlier; I’m sorry I don’t remember you,” Bruce said as a way of breaking the awkward silence.

“It’s funny…you’re the one who looked different the last time we saw each other,” she said jokingly, then regretted saying it when she saw him blush and revert his eyes. “I’m sorry…that wasn’t nice,” she said sincerely. He nodded to acknowledge the apology before speaking.

“You shouldn’t have agreed to it,” he told her.

“If I were scared, I wouldn’t have.”

“You should be scared. You could get hurt. You didn’t get hurt today, but you might later.”

“I’ve always thought there are two reasons someone would hurt someone else – because they don’t know better, or because they’re in pain themselves.”

“It would be great if everything were that simple,” he said sadly, turning away from her and looking at a clear touch screen on which a bunch of charts and graphs were being displayed. Lacey decided it would be better to change the subject.

“I read about your work when I was in college. I’m not much of a scientist myself, but I always found your work very impressive.” 

“Thank you,” he said without looking at her. 

“Can I ask…what happened?” 

Bruce’s back tensed up and he stopped adjusting graphs with his fingers for a moment. He turned and relaxed after one look into her gray-blue eyes. 

“A military general asked me for help re-creating a World War II “super soldier” program that would make humans able to survive exposure gamma radiation. I was blasted with mass amounts of gamma radiation and suddenly, whenever I get under severe stress, I turn into…the Other Guy.” 

“I’m sorry,” Lacey told him sincerely. He looked at her appreciatively. “I guess I’d better find somewhere to get some sleep. I’ll see you…and the ‘Other Guy’…tomorrow.”


	6. The First Experiment

Lacey looked at Bruce through the thick glass. For the first experiment, they wanted to be extra cautious. Bruce would transform inside a contained room, and Lacey would enter through a small door that was too big for The Hulk to get through a few minutes later. Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff would stand by to rescue her if there was a sign of trouble. 

“Are you ready?” Agent Coulson asked her kindly. She nodded, and Bruce was given a signal. He had taken off his shirt for the experiment – no use in ruining one. He had some control over his transformation, so he took a deep breath and began. After a moment, he started to turn into The Hulk. He grew, huge muscles emerging as his skin changed color. He yelled in pain as he was changing, and soon the screaming had changed to growling. The Hulk immediately began stomping around the room, running, punching the shatter-resistant glass walls. They gave him a moment to smash around in there, getting used to the surroundings. Then, it was time for Lacey to go in.

Lacey knew she should be scared of the huge green monster, but she wasn’t for some reason. She saw how much it hurt Bruce to change into The Hulk, and she mostly just felt bad for him. She stood in front of the door and it slid open, admitting her before sliding closed. Clint and Natasha had weapons at the ready, prepared to go in and save her if it became necessary.   
Lacey stepped into the chamber and The Hulk turned to roar at her. She was specifically instructed not to say anything, just to be there. She looked at him, and he stomped toward her, stopping close to her. Clint and Natasha were watching intently. The Hulk hunched over until his massive face was level with hers, and he looked into her eyes, breathing in big, loud growls. She started to take a step back, away from the huge green creature, slowly trying to get a bit farther away, just to be safe. However, it wasn’t necessary. The Hulk started to shrink, and a minute later was Bruce Banner, his shredded pants now too big for him as they slid down around his ankles. He looked down and blushed at his nakedness, but the door had opened and Coulson came in with a robe for Bruce to put on. A minute later, everyone was back in the lab. 

“Did I hurt you at all?” Bruce asked. 

“No,” Lacey told him. “I don’t know why.”

“When he saw you, he just felt…calm. That happens to me too, something about you is relaxing.” 

“Is it?” Lacey said, a bit surprised. She’d never been told something like that before. Bruce just nodded before telling her that he was going to go put on some clothes.


	7. A Fight that Changes Directions

Gwen had been at SHIELD for a week and a half, and Clint Barton had constantly been sent to help her with whatever she needed. He was never particularly happy about this, and she wasn’t either. The two did not get along at all and everyone could see it. However, Gwen just ignored him, not wanting to cause any trouble at her new job.

One day, Fury and Coulson looked at the footage on the computer screen – a traffic camera had caught Bruce getting hit by a car and transforming into The Hulk. They turned to Clint, who was standing nearby in case they needed him. 

“Agent Barton, bring Agent Morehouse in here,” Coulson told her. 

Clint clenched his jaw and his hands balled into fists. For some reason, he just didn’t like that new agent. Especially since Fury and Coulson were always making him run errands for her. He’d been a part of this organization way longer and was trained to be a marksman – why was he running around doing everything for the new girl? He stomped away and threw open her office door. 

“Fury and Coulson want to see you,” he said bluntly. 

“Well aren’t you a cheerful messenger,” she replied sarcastically.

“Yeah, well, I’d rather be actually doing what I was hired to do, but apparently they’ve decided that I’m their errand boy.”

“Don’t be mad at me just because I have a better job than you.” 

“Look, I don’t like you, but apparently we have to work together, so could you at least try not to be obnoxious?” 

“Likewise.”

They returned to Fury and Coulson.

“Agent Morehouse, you’re up,” Fury said. He showed her a clip of footage from the traffic camera and paused it on a screen shot of the face of the driver who’d hit Bruce. “We have reason to believe that this man provoked Banner for a purpose. His name is Marco Abelli and he’s been linked to a crime syndicate. I need you to find out why he messed with The Hulk.” Fury held out a file folder with the information. 

“I’m on it,” she told him, taking the folder and turning to go to her office to read up on the perpetrator. 

“Barton, go with her. Answer any questions she might have.” Clint looked less than thrilled at this, but followed her back to her office. She closed the door behind them and turned to look at him as he glared at her. Ignoring this, she got to work. 

“Did you notice anything off when you went to contain The Hulk? Happen to see this Abelli guy there?” 

“Nope,” Clint said, a bit petulantly. At this, she slapped the file down onto a chair next to her office door and folded her arms at him.

“What is your problem anyway? I don’t want to work with you any more than you want to work with me, but I’m trying to be professional here and I don’t need your attitude.” Clint stepped closer and got into her face.

“My problem is that you clearly don’t know what the hell you’re doing and yet I’m the one they’ve decided is your personal slave.” 

“Well, I’m not asking for anything from you, so why don’t you just get out of my face and let me do my job?” Gwen shouted. 

“Fine, maybe I will! It would be entertaining to see how well you’d do without me!” 

“Good! Then maybe I can get something done without your childish whining!”

Clint responded to this by pushing Gwen roughly against her office door and lowering his mouth on top of hers, kissing her, his anger making his lips move over hers passionately. She instinctively kissed him back in the same manner, her hands running through his hair as she held his head closer. His body was pressed firmly against hers, and his hands began running up and down her sides as his tongue pushed past her lips and began an intense exploration of her mouth. A fierce sigh escaped her throat and was captured by his mouth, which he took as a sign to reach past her and twist the lock on her office door. Then he turned her around, his mouth still ravishing hers furiously, and backed her into her desk. He took a moment to reach around her and shove some papers and other items aside to make room, then lifted her up by the hips until she was sitting on her desk. She unzipped his vest and slid it off his shoulders, tossing it aside and running her hands over the muscles in his arms and chest. 

His mouth finally left hers as he began to frantically kiss her neck, sliding her blazer off of her as his hips pressed against her legs. He un-tucked her blouse from her pencil skirt and started working on the buttons, but quickly gave up and just pulled it over her head. He teased her collarbone and upper chest with his mouth. 

“I can’t stand you,” he snarled against her skin. 

“You annoy the hell out of me,” she gasped in agreement as he hiked her skirt up so that he could move closer between her legs. His mouth returned to hers, his tongue angrily entering her mouth with a moan of frustration and passion as he slid a hand up her back to unhook her bra and toss it away.


	8. A Change of Partners

Clint and Gwen were putting their clothes back on, occasionally glancing at each other awkwardly. 

“We tell no one about this,” she told him adamantly.

“No kidding. You think I’d tell anyone?” Clint snapped. When he had gotten dressed again and saw that Gwen had mostly gotten herself put together again, so he threw the door of her office open and stormed out. When he stepped outside, he found Coulson in the hall, having just been about to knock on the door. 

“Agent Barton,” Coulson nodded knowingly before Clint stalked away. Coulson then entered Gwen’s office to find her smoothing her hair and skirt. He took a look at the state of her desk. 

“Agent Morehouse, I hope your time with Agent Barton has been…” he glanced up at her messed up hair, “satisfactory.” Gwen blushed bright red…he obviously figured out what had just happened.

“Perfectly adequate, thank you,” she said cordially.

“I think you’ll be pleased to know that it has been decided that he will no longer be…servicing you,” Coulson said professionally, although there was definitely a glimmer of teasing in his eyes. 

“The two of you clearly don’t see eye to eye, and we need our agents to work well together. Therefore, if you need anything, anything at all, you are free to ask me.” Gwen blushed again, having the distinct feeling that he was flirting with her. 

“Thank you, Agent Coulson. I look forward to working with you.” She did find him attractive, after all, and he was much nicer than Clint Barton was. Sleeping with Clint had been a nice way of letting off steam, but she was kind of glad to not have to work with him anymore. 

“As do I, Agent Morehouse.”


	9. Fear

Bruce and Lacey had been called in for another experiment. They stood by while everything was prepared. Lacey could sense Bruce’s uneasiness. Even though she had been near The Hulk twice and hadn’t gotten so much as a scratch, Bruce was clearly worried about her safety. 

“I’ll be fine,” she told him. He turned his head and looked at her, clearly unsure. She put a hand on his forearm comfortingly. “Try not to worry too much. I know you don’t want to hurt me.” 

“How do you stay so calm?” he asked her. “How are you not scared?”

“I’m terrified,” she told him honestly. “But I know that it isn’t fun for you, turning into The Hu— into the Other Guy. I know he could unintentionally hurt me…but you’re intentionally hurting yourself every time you do one of these experiments. It’s painful for you to change, isn’t it?” Bruce just looked at her for a moment before answering.

“I don’t want to risk your safety, but I want to figure out if you have some way of stopping the Other Guy from destroying everything in his path.”

“Well, I wish I knew what I did that helped so much…the last couple of times, I was just there.”

At this point, they were ready for the experiment to begin. This time, Lacey would start out already in the room with Bruce and he would transform while she was in there. Bruce removed his shirt and stepped inside, Lacey following after him. 

“Are you ready?” Bruce asked her. 

“Yeah,” she nodded. 

“Be careful,” he told her, then stepped to the other side of the chamber to transform. Just like the last experiment, as soon as he saw Lacey, he stopped smashing around and became Bruce Banner again. As soon as he changed back and saw that she was unhurt, he smiled. 

“I don’t know what it is,” Coulson said to Fury. “It’s her. It’s just her. The Hulk has never been like this with anyone else. It’s like she just relaxes him by simply being there.” 

“It seems that way, but we need to be sure that it’s consistent. That’s why we’re doing these experiments,” Fury responded. Bruce had come out after being given a robe again, Lacey following behind him in her red vintage sundress. Bruce sat down and put his head in his hands for a moment, recovering from the stress of being The Hulk, before he went to go change and check out the data from the most recent experiment.


	10. Undercover

“What do we know?” Coulson asked Gwen, sitting across from her desk. 

“Marco Abelli is the leader of an Italian crime syndicate. He and his cohorts like to hang around The Purple Pussycat, an underground strip club. I’m going to go undercover.”

“As a stripper?” Coulson asked, raising his eyebrows. 

“No, as a cocktail waitress. That way, I can keep my ears open for anything suspicious while I’m wandering around.” 

“I can stand by in case any danger presents itself,” Coulson said. 

“Sounds like a plan. Now, I need to change and go in for a job interview at The Purple Pussycat,” she told him.


	11. Not His Fault

Lacey entered the lab to find Bruce with his glasses on, looking at charts and statistics on the clear screens again. He looked up through one of the screens when he saw her. 

“I came to see if you’re okay,” she told him.

“If I’m okay? You’re the one who’s always in danger.”

“Still.” 

“I’m fine,” he told her. She stood awkwardly for a second before going over to a chair near the windows and began spinning in it slowly. 

“Do you know why you…why he…calms down when I’m around?” she finally asked. She spun in the chair again to find him looking at her. 

“No,” he shook his head. “I just know that whenever you’re in the same place, I…and he…feel relaxed. Like everything’s going to be okay.”

“Do you feel like that right now?” 

“Yeah,” he nodded. “I feel like as long as you’re here, I can’t possibly feel stressed.” She pondered this information for a couple of minutes, a comfortable silence between them before Bruce spoke again. “You’re the first person I’ve met who understands how it feels for me, to turn into the Other Guy,” he told her. “Most people think I’m either think I’m a cool superhero or some kind of Jekyll-and-Hyde villain.” 

“Well, yeah, I mean, that transformation must be painful, it’s a lot of trauma for the human body, and I can’t imagine always being in fear that you’re going to turn into someone else.” 

“Have you studied psychology?” Bruce suddenly asked. She shook her head no. “Hypnotic techniques?” Again, she shook her head. 

“No, in college I just majored in English. I took a physics class to fulfill my science requirement, that’s how I knew about your work. But other than that, I just took the required core classes and some literature ones. Why?”

“I’m just trying to figure out how you do it. How you make me feel so calm.” 

“I don’t seem to have that effect on anyone else…I have no idea.” 

Another long silence fell between them, Bruce not having a response to this. He just went back to looking at his screen while Lacey looked out the window at the clouds. A moment later, Gwen entered the room. 

“Doctor Banner, I’m Agent Morehouse, we met last week.”

“I remember,” he said. 

“We believe that the leader of a crime syndicate may have tried to unleash The Hulk for a reason. I’m going undercover to try to figure out why, but until then, I think it would be best if you kept a low profile.” Bruce nodded, clearly embarrassed that he had caused so much trouble. Being hit by that car had been extremely painful, but he wished he’d been able to keep the Other Guy in check. Suddenly, Gwen saw Lacey in the corner. 

“Lacey! I heard you were here, you’re the one who kept this guy under control,” Gwen said, gesturing toward Bruce with her head. “How did you do it?”

“I have no idea. They’re trying to figure it out.”

“You two know each other?” Bruce asked, confused. 

“We’ve been best friends for years. I’ve just been so busy I haven’t had the chance to come say hi to her yet,” Gwen informed her. “I’ll have to catch you up soon,” Gwen apologized, “but I need to get going. It’s better if we figure out what this crime syndicate wants before things get out of control.” At this, Bruce pressed his lips together. “Sorry,” Gwen said, realizing what it had sounded like. 

“No problem.” 

A moment later, Gwen had left to go change for her new job as a cocktail waitress. Bruce had put a hand on a metal table next to him, leaning on it as he examined his screen again. Lacey walked over to him and put her hand over his. 

“They know you’re doing the best you can,” she assured him. “No one blames you for what happened a couple weeks ago when you got hit by the car.” 

“I do,” he said simply. 

“It’s not your fault,” she insisted. “I’m sure if you just stick around here while they figure this out, everything will be fine.” 

He nodded at her and she decided that it would be best to leave him alone for a while.


	12. Tiffani

Gwen had changed into her uniform for The Purple Pussycat and stepped into Agent Coulson’s office so that they could prepare for the mission. He looked up and his eyes widened as he took in the sight. She was wearing a short, tight purple dress with a sweetheart neckline and thin straps that went over her shoulders. Her reddish-brown hair, instead of being tied back like it usually was, fell around her shoulders. She had on black strappy heels. 

“How do I look?” she asked, and Coulson absently grabbed the knot of his tie, wiggling it a bit to loosen it, needing some room around his neck to breathe. 

“If you brought me a vodka martini, I’d give you a big tip,” he replied, his voice professional but his eyes cheeky. “Do you have your gun?” She hiked up one side of her skirt to show him the holster strapped to her thigh. “Put this on,” he instructed, handing her a tiny pin. “It’s a microphone so that you can talk to me if you need to. He also gave her a matching earpiece that could hide in her ear undetected so that she could hear him as well. “Ready to go, Agent Morehouse?” 

“My name isn’t Agent Morehouse; it’s Tiffani,” she informed him, giving him her best ditzy hair flip. “With an ‘i’. And I’m ready.”


	13. The Purple Pussycat

Agent Coulson entered The Purple Pussycat and was seated at a small table. He looked around for Gwen. The interior of the seedy strip club was covered in purple booths and tables, a leopard print carpet, and a main stage where mostly naked women spun around poles. There were also some larger tables with poles on them for those who wanted to pay for a more exclusive show, and it was at one of these that he saw Marco Abelli sitting, a cigar in his mouth, surrounded by his comrades. A blonde woman in a stringy silver bikini was dancing and spinning around the pole on their table. 

Finally, he saw Gwen bringing some cocktails to a table of rowdy-looking men in cowboy hats. She turned away from the table and saw her colleague. 

“Abelli’s sitting at the large table under the neon sign,” Coulson informed her into a microphone on his lapel. She nodded at him. “And I’m serious about that vodka martini,” he said in a slightly joking voice. She gave him a look, but brought him the martini. He was technically on the job, but he couldn’t just sit in a strip club and not order anything without seeming suspicious. “Thanks, Tiffani with an i,” he smirked. She rolled her eyes at him and made her way to Abelli’s table.

“Can I get you guys anything?” she asked the table in general. After a few crude comments, she finally managed to get them to state their drink orders. As she was walking away one of the guys slapped her on the ass, and she had to physically stop herself from turning around and performing any number of martial arts tactics on him. She glanced at Coulson as she went to get the drinks and gave him a rather peeved look when she saw that he had an amused smile on his face. 

She brought the men their drinks, enduring their off-color remarks once again. She was about to walk away when she heard something that made her pause. 

“So, did you ever find that Banner guy? After the car incident he disappeared,” one of Abelli’s cronies said. 

“Not yet, but we will. I’ll find him soon enough,” Abelli said, and no more was said about the topic. Gwen walked away, wanting to listen in case there was more but not wanting to look suspicious. She waited on the table for the next couple of hours, fortunately getting some good tips. She was told she could have a ten minute break, so she sat next to Coulson to tell him what she’d heard. 

“Abelli’s definitely trying to bring out The Hulk. He didn’t say why, but they’re looking for Banner.”

“Good work,” Coulson told her, “keep your ears open for more information.” Before they could say anything more, another friendly cocktail waitress wearing the purple dress approached them. 

“Who’s this, Tiffani? Your boyfriend? Lucky woman,” the girl said, giving Coulson an admiring nod.

“Uh, yeah, Mandy, he came to see me on my first night of work, isn’t that sweet?” Gwen said, putting a hand on Coulson’s knee. She couldn’t very well tell Mandy that she was an undercover intelligence agent and that he was her co-worker. Coulson glanced down at the hand on his leg and adjusted his tie again. “This is Phil,” Gwen said, then gave him a quick kiss on the cheek for good measure. 

“It’s nice to meet you,” Mandy said with a smile before wandering off again. 

“What was that?” Coulson asked when she was gone. 

“What was I supposed to tell her, that we’re undercover spies trying to eavesdrop on customers?” Gwen asked. Coulson had to agree – the boyfriend story was a better option. A few minutes later Mandy came back. 

“Drew says your break’s over. Guess you’ll have to just kiss your man goodbye and get back to work,” Mandy said sympathetically. 

“See you later, babe,” Gwen said, and gave Coulson a quick peck on the lips before going back to work. Coulson decided that if he was going to continue working with this woman, he was going to have to start tying his ties more loosely.


	14. Normally Good at Walking

A week later, Lacey and Bruce were standing in the big glass chamber, ready to start their next experiment. This time she was told to try speaking to The Hulk, seeing if that changes the effect she apparently had on him. Bruce looked into her eyes before turning away and becoming the big green guy. As usual, he stomped and punched around before seeing her and running toward her, growling. 

“Bruce…can you hear me? It’s me, Lacey.” The Hulk looked at her for a minute as if trying to focus on listening to her. “Um…you told me that I make you feel relaxed.” She continued, not really knowing what she was supposed to say to him, just that she was supposed to say something. “Do you feel relaxed?” 

The Hulk grunted, staring at her for another minute, before returning to the form of Bruce. They were leaving the room when Lacey took a wrong step in her heels and twisted her ankle, falling chin first onto the hard floor. Bruce and Clint rushed to help her up, seeing that she had split open the skin on her chin. She also had some trouble walking, so they helped her to the lab and lifted her up onto a table. Clint left Bruce alone with her so that he could administer first aid. 

“I’m normally good at walking,” she told him jokingly while he dabbed at the cut on her chin with disinfectant. She hissed at the sting, but it quickly passed. Bruce held her face gently while he continued cleaning off the cut, his face only inches from hers.

“You’re great at walking,” he said kindly with a smile. He was clearly an excellent doctor. 

The cut wasn’t deep enough to need stitches, fortunately. However, it was still pretty big, so he put a gauze pad over it and taped it up, leaving a large white patch under her mouth. 

“There you go, all better,” he told her, and she smiled at him. 

Next he gently removed her shoe, holding her bare foot gently and gingerly feeling her ankle with his fingers to check for a fracture. It wasn’t broken, but it was sprained, and she flinched when he bent it. He pulled out an elastic bandage and started rolling it around her foot and ankle. 

“Here you’ve been worried about hurting me, when we should really be worrying about is me not being able to walk in my shoes,” she laughed. Bruce gave her a smile as he fastened the ends of the bandage. He helped her off the table and held her hand while she took a few steps, the bandage holding her ankle in place. 

“Thanks, Doctor Banner,” she told him. 

“You’re welcome. Try to take it easy.” 

“You too,” she told him. He had dark circles under his eyes and could tell that all of this changing into The Hulk for experiments was draining his energy. They both clearly needed a break. He nodded at her as she removed her other heel, deciding that flats would be better for a while.


	15. Coulson's Concern

Gwen and Coulson told Fury what they had found out about Abelli looking for Banner. However, after listening for another few nights, Gwen hadn’t found out anything else. She had been listening intently, hoping to overhear more of the plans, but to no avail. 

“I think I need to get more…involved,” Gwen said, sitting across from Coulson in his office. Fury stood by listening. “More than just a passing waitress.” 

“What do you have in mind?” Coulson asked, not having heard a word about this plan before. He raised an eyebrow. “I hope you aren’t thinking of posing as an exotic dancer.” 

“What exactly do you mean by that?” Gwen asked, a bit acidly. Was he implying that she wasn’t attractive enough to be a stripper? Not that she wanted to be one. 

“Simply that while you provide many…assets to this organization, a crime lord is not likely to reveal his plans to a woman while she is removing her clothes.” Fury raised his one visible eyebrow at the assets comment, but didn’t say anything. 

“Oh. No, I’m planning to date him.”

“I don’t understand.” 

“I’m going to go on a date with him and see if he mentions anything, even if he thinks it’s just in passing.” 

“That sounds like a good plan. Good work, Agent Morehouse,” Fury said before leaving Coulson’s office, satisfied with the report.

“Your plan sounds dangerous,” Coulson said as soon as Fury was gone.

“Well, you could date him, but I’m not entirely sure you’re his type,” Gwen said sarcastically. “I’ll wear my microphone so that you can listen the whole time and you could be right outside.” 

“What about the fact that the other waitresses think I’m your boyfriend?” he asked. 

“Well, I’m not going to go on a date with him to the strip club I work at. We can just let them keep thinking that.”


	16. Bruce's Concern

Lacey and Bruce were both given a couple of weeks off from the experiments, although she still spent a lot of time hanging out with him in the lab, since she didn’t have anything better to do. They got to know each other. Bruce learned that Lacey had been working as a bartender while looking for a job in her field, but had quit for the time-being because SHIELD was paying her handsomely for participating in these experiments. That made Bruce feel a little better – that Lacey was actually getting something out of the experimentation. 

The more they talked, the more Bruce wanted to be around her. She was sweet, funny, beautiful, and made him feel tranquil. He liked having her near him, it made him feel like he wasn’t alone. But the more he came to care about her, the more he started to worry. It wasn’t stress, just concern – he was afraid that one of these days, their luck would run out and the Other Guy would do something bad to her. 

Lacey liked spending time with him too. He was gentle, kind, intelligent, and handsome; she liked his compassion and how he always wanted to help people. He had interesting things to say that she loved listening to, and he seemed genuinely interested in her, which not many people did. She felt appreciated and respected whenever she was with him. 

After the two weeks, they were asked that the experiments continue the next day. 

“You’re worried,” Lacey stated, standing near him – she had spent enough time around him to be able to see it in his face. 

“Of course I’m worried. I care about you a lot,” he told her. “I don’t know what I’d do if I hurt you.” 

Lacey smiled at this and put a hand on his shoulder to turn him to her. 

“I’ll be fine. You haven’t hurt me yet. I care about you too, that’s why I want to help.” While she said this, her hand moved from his shoulder to his chest, and when she had finished talking, he put his hand over hers, wrapping his fingers around her hand, his eyes searching hers. Almost without doing it intentionally, she leaned in closer to him, like a moth drawn to a light. Her lips were close to his when he leaned his head away. 

“I’m sorry, I thought maybe…” she said, looking down, embarrassed. She dropped her hand from his chest, but his hand didn’t release hers.

“I don’t want to put you in danger,” he explained. She looked up at him again, her hand still snugly in his. She put her free hand on his arm. 

“Bruce, I’ve never felt safer.” With that, she leaned forward to kiss him again. He shook his head a bit as if to protest, but didn’t move away. She gently pressed her lips against his. Once she’d committed them to the kiss, he no longer made an effort to stop it, his hand dropping hers to move to her face as he kissed her back. He kissed her cautiously, but eagerly. His hands moved to slip around her waist, holding her as if she were made of blown glass. Her hands slid up his arms and around his neck, playing with his dark curls of hair. After a moment, he broke the kiss, dropped his arms, and took a step away from her. 

“Promise me you’ll be careful around the Other Guy,” he told her. 

“Promise,” she said, smiling at him and giving him a kiss on the cheek before going off to bed.


	17. The Plan is a Go

Gwen was trying to figure out the best time to make her move with the new Abelli plan while she fetched cocktails for the sleazy patrons of The Purple Pussycat. She was at the bar waiting for the bartender to finish the drinks for one of her tables when Mandy approached her. 

“Who is that guy really?” she asked suspiciously, nodding over toward Coulson. 

“What do you mean? He’s my boyfriend, you know that,” Gwen said.

“Then how come you never act like he is?” 

“It’s just because I’m at work,” she tried to explain, but Mandy looked skeptical. 

“I guess. I just know if I had a guy like him, I’d be all over him,” Mandy said, giving Gwen a doubtful look. Gwen would definitely have to be better about sticking to her cover story if she wanted people to believe it. “Anyway, it’s time for your break,” Mandy told her. 

Gwen walked straight over to the table that Coulson was at, put a hand on the back of his neck, and pressed her lips to his. Coulson stiffened with surprise for a moment, then decided he didn’t mind this turn of events and put his hands around her waist, pulling her closer. They kissed rather enthusiastically for a moment, then Gwen broke the kiss and Coulson remembered what was going on. 

“What was the purpose of that?” he asked. 

“Mandy started to get suspicious that you weren’t really my boyfriend, we weren’t acting affectionate enough. We can’t blow our cover now, not when I’m about to carry out the next part of the plan.” 

“Right,” Coulson agreed, then, seeing Mandy glancing over at them, put a hand on the back of her head and kissed her again, his mouth moving over hers adroitly. When he broke the second kiss, he put his arm around her shoulders, encouraging her to cuddle into him. Mandy seemed satisfied by this and looked away. Meanwhile, Gwen was suddenly aware that Coulson smelled incredibly good. After a few minutes, her break was over. Fortunately, Abelli and his men had a stripper on their table and were therefore too distracted to notice the kissing.

“I should get back to work. I have to carry out the next part of the plan,” she said, getting up and going back to the bar to continue her task. When it got toward the end of the night, she scribbled ‘Tiffani’ and a phone number onto a small piece of paper. 

“Anything else I can get for you boys?” she said flirtatiously, looking right at Marco Abelli. He smiled and glanced at her chest. 

“I think we’re good for tonight, sweetheart,” he said. With this encouragement, she slid the slip of paper into his breast pocket with a smile.


	18. Startled

Lacey awoke early and found Bruce in the lab, already wide awake. He wasn’t doing any work, just sitting in a chair and looking out the window. 

“You’re awake early,” she said with a yawn. He turned to look at her.

“So are you.” 

She walked over to the chair and put her hands on his shoulders, leaning down to give him a quick, sweet kiss. 

“Don’t worry, everything will be fine,” she told him, guessing his thoughts. He gave her a smile before they headed into the experimentation room. 

The experiment this time was for Lacey to try touching The Hulk to see if the effect was different. He transformed and started stomping around, and Lacey stepped forward to touch the huge beast. 

“No! Not yet!” Clint shouted, watching from outside, but she couldn’t hear him through the glass. 

She put a hand on The Hulk’s arm from the back while he was still roaring and slamming around. The Hulk growled, turned, and grabbed her by the wrist immediately. She gasped with surprise, the green giant’s hand digging into her skin a bit, but not hurting unbearably. Clint stood near the door to the chamber, ready to enter at any second. When The Hulk saw who it was, he looked at her for about twenty seconds, his hand still gripping her forearm. However, he didn’t move, and a moment later, dropped her hand and slowly turned back into Bruce Banner.


	19. Pushed Away

Lacey found Bruce working in the lab later that night after spending the rest of the day reading. He seemed to be more than usually focused on his screen, as if he were deliberately avoiding making eye contact with her. She put a hand on his arm and he looked down at it, seeing for the first time the bruises that had formed on her forearm. 

“I did that,” he said, looking down at her arm. 

“No, you didn’t. The Other Guy did.”

“Does it make a difference?” he asked. 

“It was my fault, I should have waited to approach him. When he saw that it was me, he turned back into you. He only grabbed me because he didn’t know who it was.” Bruce’s face looked doubtful and he didn’t reply, so she just rose up on her toes and pressed her lips to his. He didn’t kiss her back. 

“You don’t want to get involved with me,” he said when her mouth left his, turning back to his screen. 

“Why, exactly, are you suddenly trying to tell me what I want?” she asked, a bit annoyed. He glanced quickly at her, then turned to face her again.

“You can’t have me without getting him,” he said. 

“I’m not scared of him.” He didn’t answer, just turned away from her. She tried to put a hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged it away. “Oh,” she said sadly, tears starting to form in her eyes.   
“It’s not about whether or not I want to get involved with you. It’s about you not wanting me to.” She suddenly understood – what she wanted didn’t matter, he was just going to push her away no matter what. “I’ll leave you alone from now on, except during experiments.” A tear streamed down her cheek and she left the lab.


	20. Coulson's Concern, Part 2

Gwen and Coulson were waiting in her office, her cell phone on her desk. She was hoping Marco Abelli would call her for a date. So far, there wasn’t much happening, and they were discussing what they knew so far and some possible reasons that Abelli would want to unleash The Hulk, but they couldn’t really confirm anything. 

Finally, her phone rang, a number she didn’t recognize. Coulson had rigged up her phone so that he could listen in should Abelli call, so she answered the phone while Coulson listened in. 

“Hello?”

“Hi, Gwen Morehouse? I’m just calling to confirm your bikini wax appointment tomorrow.” 

Gwen turned bright red – she had forgotten about that. She looked across the desk to see Coulson with an eyebrow raised. 

“Um…yes, thank you,” Gwen mumbled to the cheery receptionist before hanging up. 

“I see you’re taking this undercover date very seriously, but don’t you think that’s taking it a bit far?” Coulson asked, amusement dancing in his eyes. Gwen turned even redder at this. 

“I assume it won’t come to that,” Gwen said hautily, “surely I can get something out of him before it gets to that point.” 

“And if not?” 

“I’ll cross that bridge when I get there,” she said with a shrug. She hadn’t really thought about it.

“I’m just saying, maybe you should be prepared. The leader of a crime syndicate is probably used to beautiful women doing whatever he wants.” 

“Agent Coulson, I am a trained intelligence agent. I know what I’m doing. I know how to get information out of someone who wouldn’t normally be willing to give it. If I have to use some of my feminine wiles to get him to talk, then so be it.” 

“What if he tries to kiss you?” 

“Then I’ll let him kiss me.” 

“You really do take this seriously,” he said, surprised that she would go that far to get a clue to a crime. 

“If I recall, Agent Coulson, you didn’t seem to have a problem with me kissing you to keep our story intact,” she said, a bit peeved that he was acting so weird about her doing her job. She was a female spy trying to get a skeevy crime lord to talk. What did the man expect? Coulson looked down for a moment, his cheeks turning just a shade pinker when she mentioned kissing him. 

“That’s because I know I’m not going to take advantage of you,” he told her, his ocean-blue eyes suddenly peering into hers quite seriously.

“That’s what you’re worried about?” She was surprised. She didn’t expect that he would be worried about her getting sexually assaulted. “I’m trained in five styles of martial arts and various self-defense techniques, I’ll have a gun, and you’ll be listening in the whole time. You don’t have anything to worry about.” 

“I just don’t want you to have to compromise yourself just to try to get something out of this guy,” he insisted.

“I’ll be fine,” she promised. “If he starts to get too grabby, I’ll go Chuck Norris on his ass. But I need you to trust me.” Coulson looked like he wasn’t quite sure, but he nodded. 

“Okay.” 

At that moment, her phone rang. Hoping against hope that it wasn’t another embarrassing lady phone call, she answered. 

“Hello?”

“Tiffani, baby! It’s Marco Abelli. You getting drinks with me tonight?”

“I’d love to,” she said in a flirtatious voice, and Coulson gave her a strange look. 

“Meet me at The Hollow.” He gave her the address, which Coulson scribbled down. “See you at 8.”

“I can’t wait,” Gwen said seductively. Coulson tried to hide his reaction, but Gwen couldn’t help but notice his hand clench just a bit tighter around his pen.


	21. Bonding Over Pac-Man

Lacey avoided Bruce for days. They were given a few days as a break from the experiments, and she simply didn’t want to see him. She didn’t go to the lab, staying in the room she had been given and reading most of the time. She was sort of lonely during those days, but she felt like she was in the way when she tried to spend time with anyone else – Natasha and Clint were always busy, Coulson and Gwen were neck-deep trying to solve this Abelli case, and Nick Fury, well, he wasn’t exactly the life of the party. 

Finally, she managed to at least get Tony Stark to play Pac-Man with her. For a while they played in silence before Tony finally broke the quiet.

“So. You. Bruce. What happened?” Tony Stark was many things, but subtle was never one of them.

“Nothing happened,” she said, a bit huffier than intended.

“So that’s the problem.”

“What problem? Who has a problem?”

“Usually the person who’s being a little rough with her joystick,” Tony said, then looked thoughtful and added, “There’s a dirty joke I missed in there somewhere.” She just rolled her eyes at him. “The point is, either you take Pac-Man way too seriously, as you should…or something’s wrong.” 

“If you want to know who has a problem, talk to Bruce.” 

“I did.” She turned to look at him as her Pac-Man got eaten by a ghost. Tony stopped the game and looked at her seriously, which was always kind of a big deal with Tony Stark. “The thing you have to understand about Bruce is that he really beats himself up over the whole ragemonster thing and tries not to have feelings. You should see him right now, he’s even trying not to mope. Just…don’t think he doesn’t care about you.” 

“Did you just selflessly offer me comfort and sage advice?” Lacey asked, amused. 

“Well, when Bruce is upset, he doesn’t help me work on my suit and then it takes longer and I make less money. Let’s not forget, it’s all about me.” 

“It’s all about me beating you at Pac-Man,” she said, returning to the game.


	22. What Bruce Wants

Lacey was reading in her room when there was a knock on her door. When she opened it, she was surprised to see Bruce there. She wasn’t annoyed to see him, but she wasn’t going to let him know that. She looked at him expressionlessly.

“Can I come in?” 

Without answering, she opened the door wider and went to sit on her bed. He came in, closed the door behind him, and sat down on the bed next to her. There were a few minutes of silence as Lacey looked down at her hands. Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore.

“Did you have something to say?” she asked, turning to look at him. She was surprised when the only answer she got was his hand coming behind her neck and his mouth dipping down to hers. He began kissing her fervently, passionately, with abandon, as if it was the last time he was going to ever kiss her. She kissed him back happily, forgetting that she was supposed to be upset with him and sliding a hand up his chest and into his curls. Soon she could feel his tongue on hers, and she sighed into his mouth and collapsed back onto the bed, bringing him down with her as they continued kissing, side-by-side and wrapped around each other. When they were both breathless, he broke the kiss, looking at her as if he was about to say something she didn’t like. 

“I don’t want you to think I don’t want this,” he said, brushing a strand of hair off her face as he was lying on the pillow next to her. She smiled, but the smile fell when she saw the look on his face. “Lacey, I can’t be in a relationship.” 

“Why can’t you?” she asked, a hand coming up to play with the fabric of his collar where the top couple of buttons on his shirt were open. 

“You know why,” he said seriously. “Lacey, I turn into an abusive monster when I’m under stress.”

“Except with me,” she pointed out. Bruce gently took her hand and softly ran his fingers over her forearm where the trace of bruises could still be scene from where The Hulk had grabbed her. 

“I did this to you.” 

“No, you didn’t. I startled the Other Guy, that’s all it was. It didn’t even hurt that much.” She saw him swallow, saw the movement in his throat, before he managed to speak.

“It hurt me that much.” 

She started to tear up at the pain in his voice. Why did he have to feel like that? She scooted closer on the pillow and kissed him gently, allowing him time to kiss her back with caution before he slipped his arms around her and pulled her closer into the kiss. She poured into the kiss all the feelings she had. After a few minutes, his lips left hers, his breath lingering near her mouth for a moment, and he placed a kiss into her hair as she snuggled into his chest. 

“You should get some sleep,” he told her, noticing her breathing was starting to even out. 

“So should you,” she said. They had an experiment the next day. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, sitting up. 

“You don’t have to leave,” she said. Bruce looked torn for a moment, but laid back down next to her and wrapped his arms around her again as she settled back into his chest. “Goodnight,” she said, half-asleep already. 

“Goodnight.”


	23. Phil is Jealous

Gwen entered Coulson’s office in a low-cut emerald green wrap dress that looked incredible with her hair and her hazel eyes. She was dolled up for her date with Marco Abelli. When Coulson saw her, he tugged at his tie again while he actively tried not to get distracted by her cleavage. Gwen walked over and grabbed the top of his tie, wigging it to help him loosen the knot. He cleared his throat awkwardly, his eyes focused on the wall behind her head. 

“You should really stop tying it so tight, you’re going to choke yourself,” she said. 

“Do you have your gun?” he asked. She showed him her thigh holster. “Microphone? Earpiece?” She confirmed that she had all of those things. “Let’s do this.” 

They boarded the small aircraft to fly them from SHIELD to The Hollow for the date. Gwen entered first, finding Marco Abelli in a booth in the dark corner with a bottle of expensive champagne chilling in a bucket of ice. She had to admit, the guy knew how to impress a girl right off the bat. He also wasn’t unattractive – he had a muscular build, a hint of his chest showing through the unbuttoned top button on his black shirt, longish shiny black hair, a well-trimmed beard, deep brown eyes, and olive skin. 

She joined him in the booth and he handed her some champagne and they began sipping it. About ten minutes later, she noticed Coulson walk in and find a dark table to sit at where he wouldn’t be noticed but could keep an eye on Gwen in case anything went wrong. 

“I’m glad you called me,” Gwen told Abelli flirtatiously, “I had my eye on you my first night at The Purple Pussycat,” she told him. Technically, she wasn’t lying. 

“How could I not? You’re a knockout,” he said, putting a hand on her thigh. Thank goodness it was the thigh without the gun – she knew he would probably be a little handsy, but good grief, she had just gotten there. 

“So, what do you do, Marco?” she asked. 

“Let’s just say I’m an independent businessman.” 

“Oh, really? That sounds interesting. What business?” she cooed, playing with the lapel of his shirt. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Coulson take a large gulp of his vodka martini.

“Any business – whatever people want done, I do it.” He clearly thought she was a ditz who would eat up anything he said. 

“Wow, it sounds like you really help people,” she flirted. “Are you working on anything right now?” 

“I’m actually working on making a deal with the government,” he said, clearly trying to impress her. “I give them something they want, they pay me, everybody wins.” 

“That’s impressive,” she purred, running her hand along his chest. “What are you doing for the government, or are you not allowed to talk about it?” He was beaming. She knew the trick – guys like Marco Abelli liked to have their egos stroked. All you had to do was act like you hung on their every word, and the more they’d brag.

“I take care of a dangerous situation, they pay me. Easy money.” So that was the plan. Provoke The Hulk, cause a national threat, and demand money from the government in exchange for The Hulk’s life. She thought she’d stick around just to be sure she was right. Besides, she still didn’t want to let on that she knew anything. 

“Wow. I like a man that knows how to get what he wants,” she mooned, looking at him with wide eyes. 

“Oh, yeah?” he asked, eating up her attention. “Well, you’ll love this, then.” With that, he lowered his mouth aggressively on hers, wrapping his arms around her waist. He kissed her confidently and she wrapped her hands around his neck, sliding them up into his glossy black hair as his tongue plunged into her mouth. His hands ran wantonly up and down her sides, brushing the sides of her chest suggestively. His mouth left hers and he started kissing up her neck, running a hand up her thigh even though they were still in a public place. She couldn’t see it, but Coulson’s hands balled into fists as he watched this scene play out.

“Agent Morehouse, get out of there,” she heard Coulson say into her earpiece. She ignored him and pulled Abelli’s face back to hers, kissing him deeply as his hands continued to roam.

“Listen, baby, why don’t we go somewhere more private?” Abelli said against her neck. Suddenly, he stopped. He had found the gun strapped to her thigh. He raised his head from her neck angrily. “Who are you?” he demanded. 

“Oh, that? I just have it for self-defense,” she tried to say lightly. Abelli grabbed her arm roughly. 

“You trying to lie to me?” He shook her hard.

“I think I want to leave now,” she said, starting to get scared. She got up out of the booth and walked out of the bar, making eye contact with Coulson as she did. However, Abelli followed her outside and grabbed her arm again, hurting her shoulder as he twisted her to face him. 

“Nobody walks away from me,” he snarled. 

“Let me go!” she struggled, but he was strong. He was holding her arms so she couldn’t get at her gun. A moment later, she heard a voice behind Abelli – Coulson’s voice, to be precise. 

“I believe the lady asked you to let her go.” Abelli let go of Gwen to turn around and see who was speaking to him. Gwen rubbed her arms where he had grabbed her. Coulson had a gun pointed at Abelli. The criminal realized that they were in law enforcement and ran for it. 

“We could have caught him,” Gwen said, knowing that he had gotten away. 

“We’ll get him later. At least now we know his plan,” he pointed out. They made their way back to the SHIELD aircraft, completely unaware that Abelli had seen them and stowed away in a lower compartment of the small plane. They settled in as the plane took off, Gwen sitting and Coulson standing next to her, one hand on the ceiling of the aircraft. 

“Thank you for getting him off of me. After the kiss he started to get a bit…savage.” 

“I did warn you, Agent Morehouse,” Coulson said. 

“Seriously? You’re going with ‘I told you so’?” 

“I’m simply pointing out that you ignored me when I expressed my concern.” 

“Well, I got the information we wanted, so how about you spare me the self-righteous lecture.” 

“You got the information and then instead of pulling yourself out of the situation, you continued to stoke his ego,” he said, and she thought she heard him mutter “among other things” under his breath. “It was unnecessary and you put yourself in danger.” 

“I kissed him because I thought he might say more,” she explained. Coulson nodded, dropping the subject for now. 

“Well, you’re a good actress. It looked pretty real from where I was sitting.” Gwen tilted her head at him curiously, gauging his expression. Then, a small smile curled up her lips. 

“Are you…jealous?” she asked after a moment. 

“I am invested in the safety of my colleague,” he responded, his cheeks turning slightly pink.

“That’s not what I asked,” she pointed out. He didn’t say anything, neither confirming nor denying the accusation. She stood up and took a step closer to him. He looked down at her, waiting to see what she would do. What she did do, in fact, was wrap a hand around his tie just below the knot and use it to slowly pull his mouth down to hers. He kissed her back, wrapping a hand around the back of her neck and placing the other one on her waist. Her hand slid under his suit jacket, feeling the warmth of his chest through his shirt. He raised his head off of hers, looking inquisitively down at her. 

“You don’t need to be jealous, Phil,” she told him. 

“In that case, I won’t be,” he said, “but am I allowed to be worried about you when we’re on a mission?” 

“You’re going to worry no matter what, aren’t you?” she asked, playing with his tie. 

“More than likely.”

“Then sure. As long as you trust me.” 

“Gwen…I trust you with my life,” he said, before lowering his mouth to hers again, his fingers threading in her hair as he pulled her closer with his other arm.


	24. Morning

Lacey awoke and turned her head to see Bruce lying on his stomach with one arm over her. She put her hand on his arm, lightly running her fingernails over the fabric of his sleeve. He slowly opened his eyes and lifted his head, his hair adorably mussed. 

“Good morning,” she said softly, smiling at him. 

“Good morning,” he responded. He rolled onto his side and slipped his arm under her pillow, looking over at her through chocolatey eyes. She leaned closer and brushed her lips over his in a sweet kiss. When her lips released his, he ran a finger lightly over her face. “I’m glad I get to see how beautiful you are in the morning.” She blushed and smiled at him. Then she remembered what he had tried to tell her last night. 

“Bruce,” she said. 

“Yeah?” 

“Do I still make you feel calm?” 

“Always.” 

“Even when you’re worried about me?”

“Even then.” 

“Is that why you didn’t leave last night?” He looked at her inquisitively. “You tried to.” 

“Yeah…I didn’t leave because I felt like everything would be okay. And because I wanted to stay.” She smiled again – that was all she wanted to hear. 

“We should get ready for the experiment,” she said, sitting up. He sat up too – he had slept in his clothes all night and needed to shower and change. Lacey walked him to her bedroom door and he stood in the doorway looking at her for a moment. He gave her another loving, lingering kiss before going back to his room to get ready. 

Lacey showered, dressed, and got ready for the day. She left her room and turned to head to the room for the experiment when she felt a hand cover her mouth from behind. She tried to scream but the noise was muffled by the hand and she felt a needle stab into her arm before everything went black.


	25. Interrupted

Gwen and Coulson were in his office trying to figure out something that might help them catch Abelli. They spent hours working on it, but after a while, Gwen definitely needed a break. She walked around to the other side of Coulson’s desk and put her arms on his shoulders. 

“Can’t we take a break? My brain hurts.” 

“We need to catch this guy,” Coulson said, always professional. 

Gwen was having none of that, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, kissing the skin behind his ear. She began kissing a line down the side of his neck. He tried to continue focusing on the task at hand, but ended up tugging on his tie so much that it became a bit difficult. 

“Let me help you with that,” Gwen whispered in his ear, loosening his tie until it slid out from under his collar. She continued kissing his neck, occasionally teasing the skin with her tongue, while she began undoing the buttons of his shirt. She had gotten halfway down when she turned his office chair a bit, sitting on his lap and lowering her mouth to his as she slid his suit jacket off. Their tongues started exploring each other’s mouths slowly and she moaned softly as she finished her work on his buttons. 

She had gotten his shirt undone and it hung open as she slid her hands under the collar, feeling the warmth of his neck and shoulders. He slid her suit jacket off of her and his mouth left hers to kiss a path down her neck to her collarbone. He undid the first button of her blouse, placing a kiss on the newly exposed cleavage. She lifted his head back up to hers, giving him a long, sultry kiss as his hands slid up her sides, grazing her chest. At that moment, the door to Coulson’s office flew open, admitting Tony Stark, who was holding a file folder. Gwen and Coulson’s mouths broke apart abruptly at the interruption. 

“Don’t worry, I didn’t see anything. I’m lying, I saw everything.” He tossed the folder onto Coulson’s desk and glanced at Gwen’s chest. “Nice bra. Um, am I missing something, because I was pretty sure he doesn’t have sexual urges, I’m like…98% sure,” Tony said, pointing at Coulson, who gave him a look. Gwen glanced down at Coulson’s lap, where she could feel her boyfriend’s excitement against her backside.

“I’m going to have to disagree with you,” she said to Tony, who looked thoroughly disturbed at this. 

“My image of you has been tainted,” Tony told Coulson. “Does Fury know about this?”

“Do you think he’d have a problem with it?” Gwen asked.

“No, I was just worried I missed his reaction, I wanted to get it on camera.” 

“Hey, Tony?” Gwen interrupted as Coulson kissed her on the cheek. 

“Yeah.” 

“Either join in or get out.” Tony looked like he was genuinely weighing these two options. Gwen rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t serious. OUT!” 

“Fine, I can see when I’m not wanted. A word of advice, though, when you have office sex, lock the door. I know this from experience,” Tony said as he left the room, closing the door behind him. Gwen walked over to the door and twisted the lock, then returned to Coulson’s lap and kissed him soundly. 

“Now, where were we?” she asked provocatively. 

“I believe I was right about here,” Coulson replied, lowering his head to kiss the top of her chest as he finished undoing her buttons.


	26. The Other Guy

Bruce looked at the clock again – Lacey still hadn’t arrived to start the experiment and he was starting to worry. It wasn’t like her to be late. After half an hour, Bruce said he’d go get her. He knocked on her bedroom door and she didn’t answer. He opened it and didn’t find her. Where could she be? He looked around – she wasn’t in the lab or anywhere else he could think of to look. Nobody had seen her in the past hour. 

He knocked on Coulson’s office door to find a rather flustered-looking Coulson tying his tie – he didn’t have time to think about why his tie was off in the first place. He was vaguely aware that Gwen was in the background smoothing out her hair.

“I can’t find Lacey anywhere,” Bruce said, a bit panicked. 

“I wonder if Abelli somehow got her,” Gwen said, looking worried. 

“How would he get here?” Coulson asked. 

“I don’t know, but he might have figured out a way. If he figured out that Bruce cares about Lacey, kidnapping her seems like it would be an easy way to carry out his plan,” Gwen said.

“What plan?” Bruce asked. Coulson and Gwen exchanged a look. 

“Abelli wants to release The Hulk, cause a national threat, and demand money from the government in exchange for The Hulk’s capture,” Gwen explained. 

“And you think he has Lacey?” Bruce said, suddenly feeling a bit sick. He took a deep breath, trying to remain calm. This was not the time to let his stress get the better of him. “If he does anything to her…” he started, clenching his jaw, but then decided it would probably be better not to finish that sentence. 

“I think we should go to the city and try to look for her,” Gwen said. 

“Let’s go,” Coulson agreed, and the three took off in one of the aircrafts that would take them from SHIELD headquarters to the city. 

They landed on Stark Tower and hopped out of the plane. They looked around and Bruce saw a small form lying on the rooftop quite a few yards away. He ran over to find Lacey unconscious. Frantically, he felt for a pulse…he couldn’t find one. She was dead. Bruce lifted her a bit so that her head was resting in his lap. He couldn’t believe she was dead. He stroked a hand down her face as tears welled up in his eyes. A moment later, someone stepped out from around a corner – Marco Abelli. 

“You killed her,” Bruce said through gritted teeth, feeling the rage start to boil up inside of him.

“She wasn’t useful to me,” Abelli said. “She was standing in the way of what I want.” 

Bruce couldn’t answer – he felt himself getting angrier and angrier. He fought it. This was what they wanted. However, he couldn’t control it…Lacey was dead, nothing else mattered. He started shaking, his hands balling into fists as he felt his hatred for this man grow. He quickly stood up, Lacey’s head falling to the ground with a thunk, as he stumbled around, trying to fight his anger. 

“That’s it,” Abelli taunted. “Go ahead – let it all out.” 

“Get away,” he said, his voice already having deepened into a low growl as the fabric of his shirt split, green muscles bursting through the material. He continued stomping around, still trying to fight it, but a moment later the transformation was complete, signified by an earth-shattering, agonizing, heart-breaking roar as The Hulk mourned the loss of Lacey. 

He wasted no time in stomping over to Abelli, grabbing him by the neck and throwing him across the roof of Stark Tower. Several of Abelli’s men came from around a corner to aid their boss. Gwen and Coulson began fighting some of them, The Hulk taking care of the others. Soon, the entire crime syndicate was lying on the roof of the tower, beat to a pulp, bleeding, and holding broken bones. Abelli tried to stand up, but was quickly contained when Gwen came up behind him and snapped his wrists together behind his back with handcuffs. 

“Marco Abelli, you’re under arrest for terrorism against the United States government,” she told him, then moved her mouth close to his ear. “Miss me?” she whispered. 

She and Coulson piled the criminals into the SHIELD aircraft to take them where they could be locked up for their actions, allowing The Hulk some time to calm down before they came back for him. A few minutes later, The Hulk was alone on the rooftop with the dead Lacey. 

The green beast stomped over to the girl, scooping her up. He stared at the lifeless form that was flopped across his massive hands for a few minutes, howling mournfully. After several minutes, the shock and devastation died down enough for The Hulk to shrink back down into Bruce Banner, Lacey still in his arms. The SHIELD plane returned, now void of criminals, and Bruce carried Lacey inside, tears streaming down his face. Gwen teared up too – Lacey had been a good friend of hers. Coulson wrapped his arms around her, rubbing a hand down her back to comfort her. They got into the plane and Bruce laid Lacey down on the floor, crouching next to her and stroking her cheek, not caring that he hadn’t thought to bring an extra set of clothes. Gwen cried into Coulson’s suit jacket. 

The flight back was silent until Lacey suddenly opened her eyes, blinking at the light. She whimpered slightly at the soreness in her arm and the back of her head. Bruce’s head snapped up and Gwen gasped. 

“Why are you naked?” Lacey asked Bruce.

“You’re alive! I thought they killed you,” he gasped.

“So you took off your clothes?” she rasped, still weak. 

“It was the Other Guy,” he told her gently. 

“There is no other guy, you’re the only guy,” she said, not really making any sense. “I think they drugged-ed me,” she slurred. 

“I think you’re still a little loopy,” Bruce said softly, finding her adorable and smiling because she was alive, and his heart was soaring. 

“I don’t mind that you’re naked,” she said, her eyes fluttering closed again. She was definitely still under the effect of the drugs. 

“Go back to sleep, you need to get some rest,” he said. 

“Okay,” she mumbled. “I love you.” Bruce smiled and bent down to place a soft kiss on her lips. 

“I love you too.”


	27. A Gift

Gwen knocked on the door of Coulson’s room. It was late, but she had something that she thought he might like. She held it behind her back, wearing a tank top and pajama shorts. When he opened the door, he was wearing blue pajama pants and a white t-shirt. He had on black-rimmed reading glasses. 

“I have something for you,” she said as he let her in and closed the door. 

“Uh, okay…” Phil said, a bit taken aback. He hadn’t been expecting a late-night gift. “What is it?”

She pulled out a World War II army helmet from behind her back and handed it to him. Across the side of it he could see scribbled in black marker: 

To my good friend Phil –   
Steve Rogers   
‘Captain America’

A smile spread across Phil’s face as he figured out what it was. 

“It was Steve’s, he said you could have it,” she said. 

“This is…this is the best thing I could ever be given…I don’t know how to thank you.” 

“I have some ideas,” Gwen said suggestively. Phil smiled and set the helmet down on a chair and pulled Gwen closer until her body was pressed against his. He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her lovingly, his hand sliding up her back as if he couldn’t hold her close enough. After a moment, something in him changed, and his tongue traced her lips before slipping into her mouth erotically. She moaned and he pushed her back rather firmly onto the bed, lowering himself on top of her. She lifted her hips off the bed to press them closer to his, making him sigh appreciatively and bite her bottom lip. She wasted no time in pulling his t-shirt over his head and he slid his hands under her tank top to discover that she wasn’t wearing a bra. He quickly removed the shirt and pinned her wrists above her head on the mattress, sucking and nibbling at her neck and collarbone. It didn’t take long for the two of them to quickly discard of the rest of the remaining clothes.


	28. Be Gentle

Lacey opened her eyes to find that she was in her bed, Bruce lying next to her in jeans and a purple button-up shirt. He wasn’t sleeping, and smiled at her when she sat up. 

“Feeling better?” he asked. She nodded and lowered her head to kiss him languidly, telling him how much she loved him without words. He kissed her back devotedly, running a hand down her back. When he brushed his fingers over her lower spine, she gasped and broke the kiss. 

“I’m sorry, did I hurt you?” he asked, immediately letting go of her. She responded with a wicked smile and kissed his chin, his cheek, his temple. 

“No, the opposite, actually,” she informed him, kissing him again deeply and rolling on top of him. He allowed her tongue into his mouth to dance with his as he gently stroked the sensitive part of her spine until she was moaning and trembling in his arms. She released his lips, kissing his neck while she undid the buttons of his shirt. She ran the tip of her tongue along his collarbone, making him sigh as she tossed his shirt away. Her mouth returned to his, tongues wrapping around each other as they both breathed heavily. He slid her shirt up over her head and lifted his mouth to lavish her neck and upper chest with kisses, his hand sliding up her back to grab at the back strap of her bra. Suddenly, he stopped and looked up into her eyes. 

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” he asked, panting. 

“What do you mean?” she asked. 

“What if…you know…the Other Guy comes out?” 

“Do you find kissing a topless woman stressful or upsetting?” Lacey asked, a bit confused. 

“No…” he said, but she could still sense that he was a little paranoid. 

“How about this…I promise to be gentle,” she whispered against his neck, brushing her fingers lightly down his stomach until they reached the waistband of his jeans. A shiver ran through his body and he moaned from the sensation, quickly unclasping her bra and tossing it aside as his hands took its place, his mouth coming up to ravish hers before they quickly made work of removing the rest of their clothes.


	29. The Scene After the Credits

Coulson and Gwen reported to Fury that Marco Abelli had been captured and his terrorist plot had failed. Gwen gave Clint a smug look – he clearly thought her incompetent, but she had done her first mission brilliantly. Natasha glanced at Clint and tilted her head curiously. 

“Didn’t you used to work with her?” she asked him. 

“Agent Barton’s services were no longer satisfactory,” Coulson said with a knowing glint in his eye. Gwen blushed bright red, remembering the hate sex they’d had, but gave Clint a self-satisfied look…Coulson was definitely more satisfactory. Clint clenched his jaw, clearly also catching Coulson’s meaning. 

“Did I miss something?” Tony Stark said, looking around at everyone. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Gwen said. Nick Fury raised his eyebrow, suspecting that something was going on, but since it was something he probably didn’t want to know about, he chose to ignore it.

**Author's Note:**

> There's a sequel to this story! It's called "The Perfect Woman."


End file.
